An alleged abuse victim claimed tonight that an IRA man used ghost stories as an excuse to get into his bedroom and rape him.

In an explosive Spotlight programme, Paudie McGahon made a raft of allegations including claims the IRA man abused him before threatening to kill him if he told anyone.

The 40-year-old, from Co Louth, also said that a senior figure in the republican movement was at the centre of an "investigation" into the abuse at the end of which he was given three options - the IRA would shoot the abuser, Paudie could be left alone in a room with the abuser to mete out his own punishment or the IRA would exile him to England.

Paudie, who says he comes from a strongly republican family, chose, along with another alleged victim to have the man exiled. The man he claims was in charge of the investigation was veteran IRA figure Padraig Wilson. Mr Wilson yesterday strongly denied involvement in any investigation adding: “I do not know nor have I ever met Mr McGahon.”

Ms Cahill has been at the centre of a political storm since she went public last year about the alleged rape she suffered at the hands of a man she says was in the IRA. She also says the republican movement tried to cover up the abuse and have vilified her for making the claims.

Mr McGahon says a number of IRA men stayed at his home in the 1990s. However he says the one who abused him, from Belfast and a well known republican family, was a couple of years older than him when he was a 17-year-old. He says “part of the craic” during the evenings was “to tell ghost stories”.

But he added: “One particular morning we were down having breakfast and the volunteer came down. He said something weird had happened in that [his] room last night and that his bed started floating. We thought, a very convincing story. It was an old house. We weren’t going to say no.

“He approached me and said ‘would it be alright if I stay in your room’... After a few nights I awoke to feel a hand, feeling me up. I turned over and thought the man was asleep. I went to work the next morning and thought nothing of it. But when I came home from work that evening he didn’t look at me and I didn’t look at him.

“A few nights later I was woken to with my head being pushed into the pillow, and I was in extreme pain, and realised this particular gentleman was abusing me. I was 17 and he penetrated me to the extent it was painful and you knew it was 100% wrong.”

Mr McGahon says after the attack the IRA man stopped him as he tried to leave the bedroom told him if he “opened his mouth” he would be “found on the border roads”.

The alleged victim says he left the house after that and was left unable to return home which meant he had to make excuses to his mother as to why he saw her less often.

He says that in 2002 a conversation with another man lead him to realise the other man had also been abused by the same IRA member.

After they both went to Sinn Fein, they were subsequently invited back to Mr McGahon’s family home where they faced an "investigation" panel which sat in the room he says he was abused in.

He claims that the man who appeared to be in charge identified himself as Padraig and said they were “very sorry” about what had happened. Two weeks later at another meeting he alleges that the two victims were told the IRA had their alleged abuser “in custody” and that he admitted to abusing the two men and others.

At that point, Mr McGahon says, the two victims were offered three options: for the IRA to shoot the man; for them to be put in a room to “kill him if he wanted” or to have him exiled. He says the offer to kill the man was “said with such ease” he believed it would happen. The two men chose exile.

He says he had subsequent dealings with a number of high profile Sinn Fein figures and in one meeting, in 2010, he found out his abuser was back in Ireland.

In a statement issued through his solicitor, Padraig Wilson said that as “a victim of alleged abuse Mr McGahon has every right to have his allegations pursued through due process” but that “I refute entirely the allegations that he has made against me. They are completely baseless and untrue”.

He added: “I am aware that there is an ongoing Gardaí investigation. I have previously through my legal representative offered to voluntarily attend for questioning to clear up this matter. That remains my position.”

Mr Adams added: “I have previously acknowledged that the actions of republicans in the past in dealing with allegations of sexual abuse were inadequate and inappropriate.

“Paudie McGahon clearly feels badly let down. Nothing that I may say will change this but it is a matter of deep regret to me.

“I hope that justice is served and support delivered to Mr McGahon.”

The case is currently being investigation by An Garda Siochana and detectives are looking into two potential criminal offences - sexual assault and an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

Last year Belfast woman Mairia Cahill made similar allegations against the republican movement.

The 33-year-old claimed she was attacked as a teenager in 1997 by a well known IRA volunteer and that paramilitaries conducted their own inquiry into her account, subjecting her to interrogation and forcing her to confront her alleged attacker.

The man she accused of rape was cleared in court after Ms Cahill withdrew her evidence and charges were dropped against those allegedly involved in the IRA’s internal investigation.